Portal:Tropical cyclones

The Tropical Cyclones Portal

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A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center, a closed low-level circulation and a spiral arrangement of numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rainfall. Tropical cyclones feed on the heat released when moist air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor contained in the moist air. They are fueled by a different heat mechanism than other cyclonic windstorms such as Nor'easters, European windstorms and polar lows, leading to their classification as "warm core" storm systems. Most tropical cyclones originate in the doldrums, approximately ten degrees from the Equator.

The term "tropical" refers to both the geographic origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively in tropical regions of the globe, as well as to their formation in maritime tropical air masses. The term "cyclone" refers to such storms' cyclonic nature, with anticlockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise rotation in the Southern Hemisphere. Depending on its location and intensity, a tropical cyclone may be referred to by names such as "hurricane", "typhoon", "tropical storm", "cyclonic storm", "tropical depression" or simply "cyclone".

Types of cyclone: 1. A "Typhoon" is a tropical cyclone located in the North-west Pacific Ocean which has the most cyclonic activity and storms occur year-round. 2. A "Hurricane" is also a tropical cyclone located at the North Atlantic Ocean or North-east Pacific Ocean which have an average storm activity and storms typically form between May 15 and November 30. 3. A "Cyclone" is a tropical cyclone that occurs in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans.

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Wilma at its record peak intensity northeast of Honduras on October 19

Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, both based on barometric pressure, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Wilma's rapid intensification led to a 24-hour pressure drop of 97 mbar (2.9 inHg), setting a new basin record. At its peak, Hurricane Wilma's eye contracted to a record minimum diameter of 2.3 mi (3.7 km). In the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Wilma was the twenty-second storm, thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, and fourth Category 5 hurricane, and was the second costliest hurricane in Mexican history, behind Hurricane Otis in 2023.

Its origins came from a tropical depression that formed in the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica on October 15, headed westward, and intensified into a tropical storm two days later, which abruptly turned southward and was named Wilma. Continuing to strengthen, Wilma eventually became a hurricane on October 18. Shortly thereafter, explosive intensification occurred, and in only 24 hours, Wilma became a Category 5 hurricane with wind speeds of 185 mph (295 km/h). Wilma's intensity slowly leveled off after becoming a Category 5 hurricane, and winds had decreased to 150 mph (240 km/h) before it reached the Yucatán Peninsula on October 20 and 21. After crossing the Yucatán, Wilma emerged into the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane. As it began accelerating to the northeast, gradual re-intensification occurred, and the hurricane was upgraded to Category 3 status on October 24. Shortly thereafter, Wilma made landfall in Cape Romano, Florida, with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). As Wilma was crossing Florida, it briefly weakened back to a Category 2 hurricane, but again re-intensified as it reached the Atlantic Ocean. The hurricane intensified into a Category 3 hurricane for the last time, before weakening while accelerating northeastward. By October 26, Wilma transitioned into an extratropical cyclone southeast of Nova Scotia. (Full article...)

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The 1737 Calcutta cyclone, also known as the Hooghly River cyclone of 1737 or the Great Bengal cyclone of 1737, was the first super cyclone on record in the North Indian Ocean and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in Indian history. It hit the coast near Kolkata on the morning of 11 October 1737 and has been reported to have killed over 300,000 people in Calcutta, and caused widespread catastrophic damage. The cyclone hit land over the Ganges River Delta, just southwest of Calcutta. Most deaths resulted from the storm surge and happened on the sea: many ships sank in the Bay of Bengal and an unknown number of livestock and wild animals were killed from the effects of the cyclone. The damage was described as "extensive" but numerical statistics are unknown. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Emily near peak intensity on July 16, 2005. This image was captured by MODIS on the Terra satellite.

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The 1997 Pacific hurricane season was a very active hurricane season. With hundreds of deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, this was one of the deadliest and costliest Pacific hurricane seasons on record. This was due to the exceptionally strong 1997–98 El Niño event. The season officially started on May 15, in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1, in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when almost all tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.

Several storms impacted land. The first was Tropical Storm Andres which killed four people and left another two missing. In August, Tropical Storm Ignacio took an unusual path through the basin, resulting in its extratropical remnants causing minimal damage throughout the Pacific Northwest and California. Linda became the most intense east Pacific hurricane in recorded history, a record it maintained until it was surpassed by Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Although it never made landfall, it produced large surf in Southern California and as a result, five people had to be rescued. Hurricane Nora caused flooding and damage in the Southwestern United States, while Olaf made two landfalls and caused eighteen deaths and several other people were reported missing. Hurricane Pauline killed several hundred people and caused record damage in southeastern Mexico. In addition, Super Typhoons Oliwa and Paka originated in the region before crossing the International Date Line and causing significant damage in the western Pacific. There were also two Category 5 hurricanes: Linda and Guillermo. (Full article...)

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Currently active tropical cyclones

Italicized basins are unofficial.

North Atlantic (2026): Tropical Storm Fay; Tropical Storm Gonzalo

East and Central Pacific (2026): Hurricane Nolo; Hurricane Odalys; Hurricane Polo

West Pacific (2026): Tropical Storm Surigae (Queenie)

North Indian Ocean (2026): Deep Depression BOB 06

Mediterranean (2026–27): No active systems

South-West Indian Ocean (2026–27): No active systems

Australian region (2026–27): No active systems

South Pacific (2026–27): No active systems

South Atlantic (2026–27): No active systems

Last updated: 03:08, 25 September 2026 (UTC)

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Tropical cyclone anniversaries

September 24,

2005 - Hurricane Rita made landfall in Sabine Pass, Port Arthur, Texas with winds of 185 km/h (115 mph). Rita prompted massive evacuations and caused over $10 billion in damage.
2008 - Typhoon Hagupit makes landfall to the southwest of Hong Kong. Total damages from Hagupit were marked at $1 billion and killed 102 people in total.
2022 - Former Hurricane Fiona (landfall pictured) hit Nova Scotia as an extratropical cyclone, becoming the costliest Canadian hurricane on record after leaving more than US$590 million in damage.

September 25

1939 - The 1939 California tropical storm struck California as a tropical storm, becoming one of only few tropical cyclones ever recorded to make landfall in the state. The storm killed 45 people.
1992 - Tropical Storm Danielle (pictured) reaches peak intensity with winds of 100 km/h (65 mph) before landfall in North Carolina where it killed only two people.

September 26

1958 - Typhoon Ida struck southeastern Honshu, killing 1,269 people.
1959 - Typhoon Vera made landfall on the coast of Honshu, Japan with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph), killing over 5,000 people to become one of Japan's deadliest tropical cyclones on record. Vera left 1.5 million people homeless, with damage estimated at US$261 million.
2009 - Tropical Storm Ketsana (pictured) devastated Luzon, Philippines with extreme flooding and killed more than 600 people and damages up to ₱11 billion (US$230 million). It was also recognized as the most devastating typhoon to strike Metro Manila since 1970.

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Did you know…

…that the first recorded instance of two tropical cyclones holding category 5 status, on the Saffir–Simpson scale, simultaneously was on September 11th of the 1961 Pacific typhoon season, with typhoons Pamela and Nancy (pictured)?
…that the Australian region have three distinct lists of names for tropical storms, each one of them being administered by agencies in Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, respectively?
…that the Joint Typhoon Warning Center considers that Typhoon Vera (pictured) of 1986 is actually two distinct systems, formed from two separated low-level circulations?
…that Cyclone Freddy (track pictured) in 2023 was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone recorded?

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The following are images from various tropical cyclone-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Personnel and equipment from the National Guard of the United States en route to Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018
Image 2Wind damage varies exponentially with wind speed, so that small increases in wind strength can dramatically increase damage. Damages rise by about a factor of four for every category increase in the Saffir–Simpson scale. (from Cyclone)
Image 3The initial extratropical low-pressure area forms at the location of the red dot on the image. It is usually perpendicular (at a right angle to) the leaf-like cloud formation seen on satellite during the early stage of cyclogenesis. The location of the axis of the upper level jet stream is in light blue. (from Cyclone)
Image 4All but the most expensive bottles of water were sold out at this Publix supermarket before Hurricane Irma; in the week preceding the storm, water sold out soon after shipments arrived (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 5Subtropical Storm Alex in the north Atlantic Ocean in January 2016 (from Cyclone)
Image 6Aerial image of destroyed houses in Tacloban, following Typhoon Haiyan (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 7The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. Katrina was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 8Flooding in Port Arthur, Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey. Harvey was the wettest and second-costliest tropical cyclone in United States history. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 9Broken concrete utility pole in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017, which ranks fourth in costliest US tropical cyclones. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 10Percentages of hurricane deaths in the United States from 1970 to 1999. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 11Cyclone on Mars, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (from Cyclone)
Image 12Comparison between extratropical and tropical cyclones on surface analysis (from Cyclone)
Image 13The dangerous semicircle is the upper-right corner, with the arrow marking the direction of motion of a Northern Hemisphere storm. Note that typhoons, etc. are asymmetrical, and semicircle is a convenient misnomer. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 14An example of a chart for Matthew showing its five-day forecast track (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 15A fictitious synoptic chart of an extratropical cyclone affecting the UK and Ireland. The blue arrows between isobars indicate the direction of the wind, while the "L" symbol denotes the centre of the "low". Note the occluded, cold and warm frontal boundaries. (from Cyclone)
Image 16Surface weather map of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane moving up the west coast of Florida (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 17Tropical cyclones form when the energy released by the condensation of moisture in rising air causes a positive feedback loop over warm ocean waters. (from Cyclone)
Image 18Hurricane response involves working in hazardous conditions, including contamination and electrocution hazards from floodwater.
Image 19Hurricane Isabel (2003)'s effect on the North Carolina Outer Banks (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 20A polar low over the Sea of Japan in December 2009 (from Cyclone)
Image 21Effects in Buncombe County, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene passed through the area in September 2024. (from Effects of tropical cyclones)
Image 22Hurricane Florence viewed from the International Space Station (from Cyclone)
Image 23An extratropical cyclone near Iceland (from Cyclone)
Image 24Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)
Image 25Radar image of Hurricane Erika making landfall over Northeastern Mexico (from Tropical cyclone observation)
Image 26The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (from Tropical cyclone preparedness)

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This is a featured list, which represents some of the best list articles on English Wikipedia.

The list of North Carolina hurricanes from 1980 to 1999 encompasses approximately 68 tropical or subtropical cyclones that affected the U.S. state of North Carolina. Collectively, cyclones in North Carolina during the time period resulted in around $10 billion in damage (2007 USD), primarily from hurricanes Fran and Floyd. Additionally, tropical cyclones in North Carolina were responsible for about 56 direct fatalities and at least 47 indirect casualties during the period. Eight cyclones affected the state in the 1985 season, which was the year with the most tropical cyclones impacting the state. Every year included at least one tropical cyclone affecting the state. All but two storms were North Atlantic hurricanes; the exceptions were Eastern Pacific hurricanes Tico in 1983 and Roslyn in 1986.

The strongest hurricane to hit the state during the time period was Hurricane Fran in 1996, which struck near Wilmington as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale; Hurricane Emily in 1993 brushed the Outer Banks also as a Category 3 hurricane. The deadliest hurricane during the period was Hurricane Floyd in 1999, which caused 35 fatalities and record-breaking flooding in the eastern portion of the state. Cyclones affected the state in each month of the hurricane season from June to November, primarily in September. (Full article...)

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Related WikiProjects

WikiProject Tropical cyclones is the central point of coordination for Wikipedia's coverage of tropical cyclones. Feel free to help!

WikiProject Weather is the main center point of coordination for Wikipedia's coverage of meteorology in general, and the parent project of WikiProject Tropical cyclones. Three other branches of WikiProject Weather in particular share significant overlaps with WikiProject Tropical cyclones:

The Non-tropical storms task force coordinates most of Wikipedia's coverage on extratropical cyclones, which tropical cyclones often transition into near the end of their lifespan.
The Floods task force takes on the scope of flooding events all over the world, with rainfall from tropical cyclones a significant factor in many of them.
WikiProject Severe weather documents the effects of extreme weather such as tornadoes, which landfalling tropical cyclones can produce.

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